Many dentists purchase dozens of excellent chairs, use them for a couple of years, and then stress out when it’s time to switch locations. If your dental chairs are installed into the floors, you’ll basically need to spend one entire moving day learning how to relocate them. To avoid this, invest in portable dental chairs that won’t bust your budget.

During a visit to the dentist, 23-year-old industrial designer Leah Kenttämaa-Squires began thinking about how to improve dental care in developing countries. Before the dentist had arrived, she had already had come up with the basic design for a dental and medical chair that facilitates transport of dentist equipment . “When I got home, I researched on the Internet about what's on the market, what's been used and what are the problems," recent graduate of Purdue University Leah Kenttämaa-Squires explains. "Then I interviewed dentists and doctors about what they needed to treat patients in Third World countries."

Known as the Mantis, the patent-pending portable dental chair can be used for dental care and physical treatments. “We call the chair the Mantis because of its design to morph into different shapes for different uses,” Kenttämaa-Squires explains. When not in use by patients, the lightweight chair can be converted into a dolly, enabling it to be used to carry supplies. It also can be used as an examination table

The chair, which was developed in collaboration with Purdue graduate student Kyle Amick, is also designed to be comfortable for patients and inexpensive. “It was a real challenge to balance the critical components of cost vs. complexity,” Kenttämaa-Squires says. “But we feel we have created that with the Mantis.” It offers an adjustable headrest, and enables patients to lean back in an ergonomically correct position during dental or medical care. The chair will be much cheaper than currently available portable chairs, which can cost thousands of dollars. “We wanted to create one that worked just as well [as the more-expensive models] but also is cost-effective so it can be used in Third World countries,” Kenttämaa-Squires says. While traditional, stationary dental chairs use motors for positioning, the Mantis doesn’t have any gears or motors.

The chair is offered for licensing or commercializing through the Purdue Research Foundation’s Office of Technology Commercialization. According to Kenttämaa-Squires, the chair could be on the market as soon as two years.

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Image quality and ease of use of intraoral camera have improved tremendously over the years. Most are now very slim and ergonomically designed dental handpieces with a single button for capturing images quickly, while others may require the click on a computer screen’s icon to capture the desired images. Most are corded and can plug into the USB port in the computer.

As with many dental products, multiple manufacturers of intraoral cameras are able to bridge with different radiography software. Similar to computer programs and products, each intraoral camera system has its own features, and some are compatible to specific software. Most dealer reps will offer a demonstration of the various camera types that are compatible to an office’s software systems.

Many individuals want to do only treatment that dental insurance will help pay for. One great way to aid in the preauthorization process is to provide an intraoral image to the insurance carrier.

An example is when a patient has a tooth that needs a crown due to fracture lines and a large filling. The radiograph does not show a fracture, and may or may not show the decay depending on the surface of the tooth. The patient may state nothing hurts and want to know if insurance will pay a portion of the proposed treatment before they decide to proceed. Take an intraoral image and show the patient the fractures. A good intraoral image will show the fracture lines in clear detail.

Submitting the intraoral image along with the preauthorization or insurance claim may help the approval process of needed treatments such as crowns and even periodontal therapy.

The saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” is so true. In dentistry, it couldn’t be more accurate in regard to the use of intraoral cameras. Using images to explain needed treatment helps patients visualize oral conditions as well as the possibilities to improve their smiles. Intraoral imaging is not only used to identify fractured teeth or periodontal conditions, it can also be used for areas of cosmetic improvement.

Intraoral images are necessary prior to orthodontic treatment as part of the records process in conjunction with impressions. Images can also be used to show the shade of the teeth pre- and post- whitening treatment. It can often be used to send images to the lab when cosmetic restorations are done to match shades or shape of the teeth.

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Intraoral cameras are most commonly used in dental offices, although patients can also use them at home to monitor dental health or to satisfy curiosity about what the inside of the mouth looks like. Several firms specialize in producing intraoral cameras and accessories, and others make adapters which can be used with conventional cameras so that they can be used in the mouth.

The intraoral camera enlarges the inside of the teeth to more than 40 times their actual size on a full color screen display. By zooming in on problem areas in affecting the teeth, dentists are capable of seeing much more than they could with the human eye alone. Often, dentists find the beginnings of periodontal disease or tooth decay that would have otherwise gone undetected if examined without the intraoral camera.

The intraoral camera is not just a diagnostic tool, but it also serves as an educational one too. In the past, dentists have struggled to explain dental decay and other health problems to patients. Most people cannot see well into their own mouths, which leaves dentists to drawing diagrams or using props to attempt to explain what is going on in the mouth of their patients.

With the intraoral camera, however, the patient sees exactly what the dentist sees on an in-office screen. If necessary, the dentist can pause on a particular tooth or area of the mouth to point out problems and explain possible treatment options. This also frees the patient to ask questions and become a part of the examination process. When dentists can point out specific places on the actual teeth that are decaying, patients may have a better idea of how home hygiene practices and brushing techniques are affecting them.

Images taken by an intraoral camera can also be reviewed later, which can be useful for a dentist who feels a nagging suspicion that something is not quite right in the mouth of a patient. The intraoral camera can also be used to document procedures for legal and educational reasons, and to create projections of a patient’s mouth which can be used in medical schools for the purpose of educating future dentists about various issues which pertain to oral health.

The intraoral cameras designed for use in dental facilities come with disposable probes or probe covers to ensure that germs are not passed between patients, and they may come with a variety of options which enhance the functionality of the camera. Versions designed for home use are usually much more basic, but they can still be useful for people who want to see the inside of the mouth( dental x ray machine portable ). Using a camera at home, someone can identify an issue which requires a dentist’s attention, keep an eye on a recovering surgical site, or teach children about the importance of oral hygiene.